Vulture Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Guys As I posted last weekend the flexy pipe linking the oil pipe on the engine to the oil pressure gauge failed. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?27596-This-Was-Not-In-The-Plan-For-The-Day-! I ordered a replacement from Rex Ward which arrived yesterday. On trying to fit it this morning I find that its either too long, or too short. Its not long enough to curl round like the old one, and not short enough to easily link the two pipes. At the moment if I force the issue, it will kink the the pipe. :-( Any ideas whats going on here ? (deep sigh) Kind regards to all Ian Photo 1 - Original set-up Photo 2 - Failed attempt with new pipe Photo 3 - Comparison of pipes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Cubed Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Hi there, if its any help the one on my truck is straightish, no loops in the flexible hose, looks like the steel tube from the oil pressure gauge needs to be a bit shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Hi there, if its any help the one on my truck is straightish, no loops in the flexible hose, looks like the steel tube from the oil pressure gauge needs to be a bit shorter. Richard Could you do me favour and measure the length for me please. (End of fitting to end of fitting) Many thanks Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Vulture - remember why it's a flexi, the engine will rock a surprising amount on its mountings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Robertson Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Hi Vulture, looking at the parts book, it would appear that the lower steel pipe is slightly short and the flexi' looks to be correct. That leaves the upper steel pipe. I would shorten it to suit the off-the-shelf flexi'. Someone else may have a better suggestion, remember these trucks will all have been modified at some time by various countries. My own cckw has slightly different lengths of steel pipe from standard. It is ex-Dutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Vulture - remember why it's a flexi, the engine will rock a surprising amount on its mountings. N.O.S Happy about the rationale for having a flexi pipe there, less so that I've forked out £20 for one that won't fit ! :shocked: (sigh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Hi Vulture, looking at the parts book, it would appear that the lower steel pipe is slightly short and the flexi' looks to be correct. That leaves the upper steel pipe. I would shorten it to suit the off-the-shelf flexi'. Someone else may have a better suggestion, remember these trucks will all have been modified at some time by various countries. My own cckw has slightly different lengths of steel pipe from standard. It is ex-Dutch. David Thanks for your thoughts. I suspect mine is ex French as the engine has been repainted green at some time, but that is just a hunch, can't say for certain. My options would appear to be: 1. Shorten the pipe from the gauge, to get the flexi pipe to fit. 2. Get a new flexi pipe made up at a firm in Peterborough called Pirtek. 3. Do nothing... Option 2 is my current preferred course of action as I don't have a tool to shorten the pipe. I shall sleep on it. Kind regards Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 A longer pipe will allow a 360 loop which will resolve all movement problems. Alternatively bend the poipes you have until trhe flexi sits comfortably with room to take up engine movement. The pic below is an ex French one. I might learn from your woes and replace it soon :-D I'm sure RW might take the hose back as PX for something much more expensive - which you are bound to require in the near future :cool2: Or - start a collection of bits that don't fit but which might be useful for something in the future, every GMC owner has one. Tip - make it a very large box...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 In fact, Ian - let me have the overall length of RW's pipe - it looks like it might fit my truck nicely!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Cubed Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Richard Could you do me favour and measure the length for me please. (End of fitting to end of fitting) Many thanks Ian Yes of coarse I can Ian, what I will also do is take some pics too for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shopnut Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 DavidThanks for your thoughts. I suspect mine is ex French as the engine has been repainted green at some time, but that is just a hunch, can't say for certain. My options would appear to be: 1. Shorten the pipe from the gauge, to get the flexi pipe to fit. 2. Get a new flexi pipe made up at a firm in Peterborough called Pirtek. 3. Do nothing... Option 2 is my current preferred course of action as I don't have a tool to shorten the pipe. I shall sleep on it. Kind regards Ian I would suggest you change that pipe, they have a nasty habit of bursting, normally happens when driving, spraying oil every where, including that very hot exhaust manifold!, you dont want a fire and another point to consider, possible engine damage. A GMC I was driving developed a pin prick hole in this hose, squirting oil over the exhaust downpipe, what I noticed was a lot of white smoke in the mirror, lucky as per N.O.S., I had a spare in the 'box', very easy to change. The hose from R.W. looks correct, never seen a pigtail hose. Would advise any GMC owner to replace this hose, as a preventive measure, if they do not know when it was last renewed, and then keep the old one in the 'box' as a emergency fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Just a thought - if going the longer flexi route, remember (from day 3 of your GMC owner's Induction Course) that when it comes to pipes, we're looking at U.S. spec. - SAE. Quite often (but not always:cool2:) these are not readily available in the smaller sizes from hydraulic pipe suppliers, so don't be surprised if they cannot do something 'off the shelf'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Just a thought - if going the longer flexi route, remember (from day 3 of your GMC owner's Induction Course) that when it comes to pipes, we're looking at U.S. spec. - SAE. Quite often (but not always:cool2:) these are not readily available in the smaller sizes from hydraulic pipe suppliers, so don't be surprised if they cannot do something 'off the shelf'. N.O.S. Thanks for the picture and your thoughts, much appreciated. I'll measure up the one RW supplied, and you can see if it will fit yours. I've rung Pirtek in Peterbrough this morning and time permitting will go over this lunch time see what they say. Kind regards Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Yes of coarse I can Ian, what I will also do is take some pics too for you. Richard It has become clear that my truck is a slight odd-ball in this department, and that I'm going to have to get a none-standard part made up. It will be interesting to see how your 352 is configured. What do you know of the history regarding yours ? Kind regards Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Cubed Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Richard It has become clear that my truck is a slight odd-ball in this department, and that I'm going to have to get a none-standard part made up. It will be interesting to see how your 352 is configured. What do you know of the history regarding yours ? Kind regards Ian If its any help my hose is straight but has a little dog leg in it and roughly 6" long end to end. All I know of the history is that it was imported from France in 1995 then sold to the guy who I bought it off, he kept it for a couple of years before I bought it and had it ever since. In re-spraying it a couple of years ago found a French flag painted on the back left hand rear mudguard !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) Visited Pirtek yesterday afternoon. They didn't have any of the correct end fittings in stock, however they were able to re-use the ones off the old pipe Here's a pic of the Pirtek one (top) along side the 'standard' pipe. I asked them to make it an inch or so longer than the old pipe. Good thing I did, as the pipe is quite a bit thicker, and therefore doesn't bend as well. Hopefully it will fit when I try it out this coming Friday. N.O.S. As you can see from the pic the one RW supplied is just over 6" long. Is it any use to you ? PM me if you want it, and we can talk price and postage arrangements. Richard sounds like yours is a 'standard' set-up. Wonder why mine's different ? I can only speculate that perhaps the pipe from the gauge has been damaged at some stage and therefore had to be replaced (unfortunately with a longer piece). Kind regards to all Ian Edited December 9, 2011 by Vulture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks. Have PM'd you. That was a result with the new hose. You were lucky that the supplier was prepared to re-use your old fittings - as policy the company I use will no longer do that (and you can't blame them, even though it could be argued there is no safety issue involved in a gauge hose). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Success ! :yay: Fitted the re-worked hose yesterday, fired the engine up, no leaks :dancinggirls: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gas 44 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Ahh,the old RW too short situation. ..I had a wiring loom from him this year and although on the whole they are pretty good ,it was spoilt a little by being a few inches short at a number of terminal positions.Passed on the comments and he said he would extend the loom at those places. By the way fella's looks as you could do with a new loom Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTallMike Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hi, Only just saw this thread. The supplied flexi was the correct one. I've replaced three of these in the last year for different people, all with RW supplied parts. On your truck the pipe on the firewall to the gauge is too long. The easiest solution would have been to have gently increased the bend of this pipe under the dashboard where it is hidden, having the effect of raising the upper fitting to where the new flexi would have fitted it. These steel/Kunifer pipes would have been made up to fit when the truck was undergoing base overhaul and would have been bent to fit anyway so it is very likely the position isn't 100% right. I personally would not be comfortable with a tight 360 on an engine-critical pressurised rubber pipe. I would expect it to deteriorate quickly once it starts to fatigue with the natural engine movement. - MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Ahh,the old RW too short situation. ..I had a wiring loom from him this year and although on the whole they are pretty good ,it was spoilt a little by being a few inches short at a number of terminal positions.Passed on the comments and he said he would extend the loom at those places.By the way fella's looks as you could do with a new loom Gary Hi Gary Yes my loom is looking a bit tired, which might explain three minor electrical snags I'm living with at the moment. I'm going to get into the wiring in the spring, assuming I've sorted the list of other things before then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Hi, Only just saw this thread. The supplied flexi was the correct one. I've replaced three of these in the last year for different people, all with RW supplied parts. On your truck the pipe on the firewall to the gauge is too long. The easiest solution would have been to have gently increased the bend of this pipe under the dashboard where it is hidden, having the effect of raising the upper fitting to where the new flexi would have fitted it. These steel/Kunifer pipes would have been made up to fit when the truck was undergoing base overhaul and would have been bent to fit anyway so it is very likely the position isn't 100% right. I personally would not be comfortable with a tight 360 on an engine-critical pressurised rubber pipe. I would expect it to deteriorate quickly once it starts to fatigue with the natural engine movement. - MG Mike Thanks for your thoughts. :goodidea: about messing with the pipe in the cab (wish I'd thought of that :banghead:). You may be right about the new rubber one, although I feel it will last a few years, as it is hugely over-engineered. The new pipe can take 4200psi. When I've sorted the current list of jobs out, I might revisit it. Kind regards Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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